Populist billionaire Babis' ANO Party wins Czech elections with 35.5% of vote

Populist billionaire Andrej Babis' ANO Party secured victory in the Czech parliamentary elections, winning nearly 35.5% of the vote as nearly 94% of ballots were counted, public broadcaster Ceska televize reported.

The current ruling Spolu coalition came in second with around 22.5% of the vote, while the Stan movement finished third with roughly 11%.

In the 2021 elections, the Spolu coalition narrowly defeated ANO by less than one percentage point, later forming a government led by Petr Fiala.

The Pirates received about 8.5% of votes, followed by the SPD with just under 8%, and the Motorists party just under 7%. The Stacilo! movement and the Oath party failed to pass the 5% threshold required to enter the lower house, gaining 4.2% and 1.1%, respectively.

The State Election Commission is expected to review the full results on Monday, with official publication in the Collection of Laws likely on Tuesday. Citizens will have the opportunity to challenge the results at the Supreme Administrative Court starting Wednesday.

Following the election, ANO Party Deputy Chairman Karel Havlicek said he could imagine post-election cooperation with the Motorists party, but ruled out any coalition with the current government parties, Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats, TOP 09, Stan, or the Pirates, Radio Prague International reported.

Havlicek reaffirmed that ANO's candidate for prime minister is its leader, Babis.

Around 8 million voters cast their ballots on Friday and Saturday, with 26 parties and groupings competing for seats in the 200-member lower house, four more than in the last elections in 2021. Polling stations closed at 2 pm (1200GMT) local time on Saturday.